Thunder Practices, Physical, Intense
Friday, the Thunder get their first look at another team inside the NBA bubble when they scrimmage the Boston Celtics. Seeing a different color uniform should come as a relief considering practices over the past 10 days have been "intense."
Head coach Billy Donovan says the Thunder can not waste days by the sound of things they aren't. Sunday was another physical day for the Thunder that featured good competition.
Donovan says:
"Today (Sunday) was a really really physical day for us."..."Guys really really competed and we got up and down quite a bit and played so I thought that part of it was really really good."
"I think with medical we've been able to figure out days where we need to do a little more scripting and execution and teaching and coaching."..."We feel like we've got a good balance of both since we've been here."
According to two-way forward Kevin Hervey, "the atmosphere of the gym is really competitive."... "It's super intense; we're going at it every single day."
The Thunder may not be able to recapture what they had before the season was unexpectedly shut down. But signs of their chemistry, which lead them to a 40-24 record, are still present.
Hervey says, "Every single day we're building on it, I don't necessarily think there's gonna a peak that we're gonna get to."... "I just think we're going to keep building every single day."
Noel Held Out Of Contact Drills
Per Donovan center, Nerlens Noel was held out of contact drills on Sunday. The Thunder are being "overly cautious" with Noel.
Donovan says it's crucial for him to feel healthy before they "throw him back into practice." While thee Noel is on the mend rookie Darius Bazley is getting some run at the five when Mike Muscala needs a blow
Have you signed up for the Inside the Thunder Community Board? We are trying to create a place to share posts and have intriguing and fun conversations about all things related to the Oklahoma City Thunder! Once you sign up, feel free to post as you'd like.
With more than 20 years of experience hosting local and national radio shows, Erik Gee is a fixture of Oklahoma sports media. He has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for the past six seasons. He is also the co-host of the Pat Jones show on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa.
